U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee January 28, 2015 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. If confirmed by the full Senate Ms. Lynch will succeed Eric Holder as the next U.S. Attorney General. less

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee January 28, 2015 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. If confirmed ... more

Photo: Mark Wilson, Mark Wilson/Getty Images

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

Photo: Angelo Merendino, Angelo Merendino/Getty Images

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WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 08: Attorney General nominess Loretta Lynch (C) speaks after U.S. President Barack Obama (R) introduced here as his nominee to replace Eric Holder (L) during a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House November 8, 2014 in Washington, DC. Lynch has recently been the top U.S. prosecutor in Brooklyn, and would be the first African American woman to hold the position of Attorney General if confirmed. less

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 08: Attorney General nominess Loretta Lynch (C) speaks after U.S. President Barack Obama (R) introduced here as his nominee to replace Eric Holder (L) during a ceremony in the ... more

If confirmed, Lynch, 55, would be the first African-American woman to hold the position.

In many ways she was a bystander Wednesday, as the committee's Republican majority used the hearing to attack Holder for running what committee chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, termed a "deeply politicized'' Justice Department.

Holder's record, Cornyn said, is "heavy on our minds'' because of his close relationship with President Barack Obama -- for whom Holder once said he acted as "wing-man.''

Blumenthal posed two rounds of friendly questions to Lynch on topics such as restitution to victims of human trafficking and addressing cases of police abuse without undermining officer morale.

He praised Lynch for testimony that he termed "the most accomplished and impressive that I've seen as a member of this committee,'' and pledged to vote for her confirmation.

By contrast, Republicans used Lynch as a surrogate for attacks on the president's executive order deferring deportations of illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria, IRS probes of the tax status of conservative political organizations and the "Fast and Furious'' scandal in which Phoenix-based federal ATF agents were instructed not to intercept gun purchases destined for Mexico's drug cartels.

The hearing lasted nearly eight hours and was punctuated by Republicans such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who charged: "I believe the Department of Justice has behaved more like a partisan operation for the president than an impartial enforcement agency.''

Although Republican attacks were occasionally strident, Blumenthal praised them for "not making this nomination a referendum on the merits of the president's immigration policy and decisions.'' Blumenthal said he supported the president's immigration executive order.

A former U.S. attorney in Connecticut and state attorney general, Blumenthal attempted to enlist Lynch's support on behalf of the "Hide No Harm'' bill he co-authored that would hold corporate executives criminally liable when they fail to act on information that a product is unsafe for consumers or poor workplace conditions put employees at risk.

The measure, introduced last summer, grew out the probe of the failure of ignition switches on General Motors cars. The faulty switches were implicated in at least 13 auto-accident deaths.

"Can more be done to aggressively prosecute white collar crime to dispel the widespread perception that perhaps the Department of Justice has been too lenient?'' he asked.

Lynch said she'd been tough on white-collar crime in her years as U.S. attorney for the Brooklyn-based district whose jurisdiction extends eastward across Long Island. Like her counterpart, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan, Lynch said she was aggressive in prosecuting cases involving insider trading and corporate malfeasance.

"No individual is too big to jail and no one is above the law,'' she said in response to Blumenthal.

Lynch mostly stayed close to the script of most every high-profile presidential nominee, offering narrow legalistic answers to controversial questions, agreeing with senators where she could, and pledging to work closely with them on their specific interests.

She said she supported the federal death penalty and agreed with the National Security Agency's controversial eavesdropping programs, which she called "constitutional and effective.''

Rep. Jim Himes on Wednesday became the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence subcommittee that oversees the NSA, guaranteeing him a front-row seat on the controversial issue.

On the president's executive order on immigration, Lynch said she had reviewed a Justice Department opinion on the extent of the president's powers and the issue of prosecutorial discretion -- the practice of prioritizing criminal prosecutions.

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Concentrating on deportations of those who have committed crimes, she said, "seems to be a reasonable way to marshal limited resources.''